Lid storage and application device
A stand-alone manually operated device for capping a filled beverage container with a lid. Lids are staged within the apparatus in a bulk storage queue and are individually transferred from a bulk storage queue and applied to a beverage container by physical contact to the application mechanism. The mechanism ensures the sealing rim of the lid is completely engaged on the beverage container without human contact on hygienic surfaces. Once the operator disengages, the mechanism automatically retracts to a resting position and the next lid is engaged.
This non-provisional application claims the benefit of priority from provisional application U.S. Ser. No. 62/497,213 filed on Nov. 14, 2016. Said application is incorporated by reference in its entirety.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. The Field of the InventionThe present invention relates to a device for storing and applying lids to cups. More specifically, the present invention is directed to a device for storing and applying lids to beverage containers or cups.
2. Background ArtRestaurants, especially those catering to fast food and drinks have traditionally been focusing on improving packaging of food items and drinks so that the purchased food and drinks may be enjoyed at the restaurant and also taken out to be enjoyed elsewhere. A food and drink item meant to be a “take-out” item must be properly packaged and contained properly. Efforts in reducing costs for providing these convenience items have resulted in food and drink packaging that will only survive a short duration upon the commencement of their use. Traditionally, either a disposable plastic or paper cup is provided to receive beverages of a consumer's choice before the cup is sealed with a lid. Stacks of lids are typically provided at a self-serve restaurant so that patrons can access them and pick out appropriately-sized lids for their cups. In doing so, a messy, unsanitary and wasteful condition can be created. First, lids of various sizes may be provided for cups of different sizes. When presented with lids for various sized cups, a patron tends to simply pick up a lid before determining whether the lid that has been picked up is meant for the cup in hand. If the lid is unsuitable, then the patron may proceed to return the wrong lid to the same stack after exposing the lid to the patron's hand, soiled cup or other countertop surfaces. The next patron may find the wrong lid soiled and proceed to discard it. Further, the use of an incorrectly-sized lid may cause spills as the patron may try to fit the lid over a cup that is either too big or too small. Further, a patron may apply excessive force in an attempt to ensure that a lid has been properly applied, causing the cup to collapse and spilling the contents of the cup. Inefficiencies caused in a drink serving area can leave an unsanitary condition and an unwelcoming scene in addition to lost profits due to wastes and the need to clean up the area. Yet further, in food service areas, e.g., service stations and small cafes, management of peripheral items, e.g., lids cannot be attended to at regular intervals due to staffing availability. Yet further, a patron may try to fit a correctly size lid but may not achieve a uniform seal on the cup lid when applied manually leading to a lid to cup bond that may leak on the patron. These environments must rely on a device to manage lid stock and lid application in order to maintain sanitary conditions. Other users that may face challenges seating lids and can benefit from a device that aid in seating lids include beverage servers. e.g., coffee baristas and servers of drive-through food services, etc.
There arises a need for a drink establishment that is hygienic where the beverage cups may be sealed using a sanitary and reliable method without requiring a tremendous capital investment. Disclosed herein is a container lid application device configured to solve the problems disclosed elsewhere herein.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONIn accordance with the present invention, there is provided a container lid application device for applying a lid onto a container, the lid application device including:
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- (a) a dispense assembly configured for indexing the lid from a magazine of lids in a first orientation, the dispense assembly including at least two magazine support segments biased toward one another forming an opening, each of the at least two magazine support segments is coupled to a plunger such that when the plunger is urged upwardly, the opening is widened to release the bottommost lid of the magazine of lids before the opening contracts to support the other lids of the magazine of lids;
- (b) a press assembly including:
- (i) a lid grasping ring disposed in a plane, the lid grasping ring including a ring member configured for receiving the bottommost lid, the ring member having an opening of a first diameter, and
- (ii) a handle attached to a support ring within which the lid grasping ring is disposed;
- (c) a transport assembly including:
- (i) a guide slideably attached to the support ring, the guide configured for guiding the support ring to the container at a first position in a first direction;
- (ii) a return spring attached to the support ring, wherein the return spring is configured to return the support ring to a second position in a second direction opposite to the first direction, and
- (d) a rotator assembly including at least one pin connected to the lid grasping ring at a first end and a pinion at a second end and a rack, the pinion configured to be rotatable about a central axis of said pin and rotatably coupled with said rack, wherein said rotator assembly is configured for rotating said lid grasping ring to a second orientation that is disposed at about 180 degrees with respect to said first orientation while said press assembly is moved between said first position and said second position,
wherein, when the handle is pulled away from the second position towards the first position with a force, the plunger drops downwardly, the released bottommost lid is received in the opening of the ring member, the released bottommost lid is rotated by the rotator assembly while being transported by the transport assembly before arriving at the first position such that the released bottommost lid is securable to the container by the press assembly.
In one embodiment, the present device further includes a force limiter configured for bridging the handle and the lid grasping ring, the force limiter includes a resilient member having two ends, a first end of the resilient member is attached to the handle and a second end of the resilient member is attached to the support ring, wherein if the force exceeds a pre-determined threshold, the handle is rotated about the resilient member in the first direction to prevent continued application of the force and wherein if the handle is released, the press assembly is returned to the second position by the return spring, urging the plunger upwardly to release a next bottommost lid into the opening of the ring member.
In one embodiment, the press assembly further includes a protruding ring disposed in a plane, the protruding ring having an opening of a second diameter that is smaller than the first diameter, the protruding ring is disposed in a plane that is parallel to and at an offset to a plane of the lid grasping ring, wherein the protruding ring is configured to come in contact with a portion of the released bottommost lid such that the force can be uniformly applied on the released bottommost lid to secure the released bottommost lid to the beverage container.
In one embodiment, the resilient member is a torsion spring. In another embodiment, the resilient member is a flexible rod. In yet another embodiment, the resilient member is a coil spring.
In one embodiment, the force is exerted manually.
In one embodiment, wherein the transport assembly further includes a pulley system adapted to cycle the transport assembly between the first position and the second position without a manual effort.
An object of the present invention is to provide a lid application device capable of consistently sealing the mouth of a cup without causing spills or damage to the cup.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a lid application device which does not require electrical power for its operation.
Whereas there may be many embodiments of the present invention, each embodiment may meet one or more of the foregoing recited objects in any combination. It is not intended that each embodiment will necessarily meet each objective. Thus, having broadly outlined the more important features of the present invention in order that the detailed description thereof may be better understood, and that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated, there are, of course, additional features of the present invention that will be described herein and will form a part of the subject matter of this specification.
In order that the manner in which the above-recited and other advantages and objects of the invention are obtained, a more particular description of the invention briefly described above will be rendered by reference to specific embodiments thereof which are illustrated in the appended drawings. Understanding that these drawings depict only typical embodiments of the invention and are not therefore to be considered to be limiting of its scope, the invention will be described and explained with additional specificity and detail through the use of the accompanying drawings in which:
- 2—beverage lid storage and application device
- 4—dispense assembly
- 6—press assembly
- 8—transport assembly
- 10—spring
- 12—protruding ring
- 14—cup holder
- 16—cup retainer springs
- 18—handle
- 20—cup
- 22—cup lid
- 24—cup lid magazine
- 26—bushing
- 28—guide
- 30—lid grasping ring
- 32—cup lid magazine support segment
- 34—slot of beverage cup lid magazine support segment
- 36—plunger
- 38—cutout
- 40—spring
- 42—ring member
- 44—pin
- 46—pinion
- 48—rack
- 50—opening
- 52—magnet
- 54—resilient member, e.g., torsion spring
- 56—sealing rim
- 58—cup lip
- 60—magazine shield
- 62—housing
- 64—rotator assembly
- 66—return spring
- 68—support ring
- 70—pulley
- 72—motor
- 74—belt
- 76—attachment point
Advantages of the present invention include, but are not limited to, eliminating the need for human contact with beverage lids during selection from lid storage and application to the container, complete engagement of the beverage lid with the beverage container, and the device is powered entirely by physical user input. The magazine of lids is enclosed within a shield of the device, which prevents human contact with unused lids. Each lid is transferred from a dispense assembly to a press assembly without human contact with unused lids. Each lid is directly applied to a beverage container by the press assembly, which prevents human contact with the lid during application.
In one embodiment, the press assembly applies uniform force around the periphery of a lid such that it can be applied to the mouth of a cup, ensuring that lid engages the entire perimeter of the cup opening, preventing lid failure as well as beverage leakage or spillage. In each pressing action, the press assembly of the present device enables a consistent pressing force to be applied to the lid in order to seat the lid to close the mouth of a cup, allowing a proper closure without undue force that can crush the cup. Excessive downward force applied to a cup is deflected by a mechanism that allows the handle used for moving the press assembly to the cup to bend, thereby diminishing the user's capability in further applying downward force to the press assembly which can crush the cup.
A user of a present device is not concerned with the steps required to seat a lid atop a cup. A self-explanatory linear action is all that is required to dispense a lid from a magazine of lids, bring the lid to a cup and to seat the lid so as to close the mouth of a cup. The present device can consistently dispense a lid from a magazine of lids and seat the lid all in a single slide action.
In one embodiment, the present device is powered by a human force without input from electric, pneumatic, hydraulic, or other power sources, allowing placement of the device to be independent of new or existing power sources and therefore can be set up on any surfaces accessible and convenient to users.
The present device is configured to receive a magazine of lids and dispenses one lid at a time for each linear slide action, making the action to seat a lid to close the mouth of a beverage container or cup uncomplicated. Further, upon seating a lid, no effort is required of the part of a user to return to the device to a position such that the next lid seating action can be carried out again as the press assembly of the device is automatically returned to be replenished with the next lid once the press assembly has been released by a user.
The present device is capable of achieving a lid application cycle time that is less than hand application cycle time with complete sealing of the mouth of a cup.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENTThe term “about” is used herein to mean approximately, roughly, around, or in the region of. When the term “about” is used in conjunction with a numerical range, it modifies that range by extending the boundaries above and below the numerical values set forth. In general, the term “about” is used herein to modify a numerical value above and below the stated value by a variance of 20 percent up or down (higher or lower).
In summary, the present device includes a dispense assembly, a transport assembly, a rotator assembly, a press assembly that is connected to the rotator assembly and a force limiter assembly. In use, as the handle 18 is pulled away from its at-rest position towards a cup to be capped with a force, e.g., applied by hand or manually, a released bottommost lid of the magazine of lids, is received in the press assembly. The present device is configured for a magazine of lids that are loaded upside-down. The released bottommost lid is rotated by the rotator assembly while being transported by the transport assembly before arriving at the first position such that the released bottommost lid is securable to the beverage container by the press assembly.
The present lid application device may be used in non-beverage applications, e.g., ice cream novelties, milkshakes, and desserts served in a cold beverage container and any applications requiring well-sealed vessels, etc.
The detailed description refers to the accompanying drawings that show, by way of illustration, specific aspects and embodiments in which the present disclosed embodiments may be practiced. These embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice aspects of the present invention. Other embodiments may be utilized, and changes may be made without departing from the scope of the disclosed embodiments. The various embodiments can be combined with one or more other embodiments to form new embodiments. The detailed description is, therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope of the present invention is defined only by the appended claims, with the full scope of equivalents to which they may be entitled. It will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that any arrangement that is calculated to achieve the same purpose may be substituted for the specific embodiments shown. This application is intended to cover any adaptations or variations of embodiments of the present invention. It is to be understood that the above description is intended to be illustrative, and not restrictive, and that the phraseology or terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation. Combinations of the above embodiments and other embodiments will be apparent to those of skill in the art upon studying the above description. The scope of the present disclosed embodiments includes any other applications in which embodiments of the above structures and fabrication methods are used. The scope of the embodiments should be determined with reference to the appended claims, along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled.
Claims
1. A container lid application device for applying a lid onto a container, said lid application device comprising:
- (a) a dispense assembly configured for indexing the lid from a magazine of lids in a first orientation, said magazine of lids terminated at a bottom end of said magazine of lids with a bottommost lid, said dispense assembly comprising at least two magazine support segments biased toward one another forming an opening, each of said at least two magazine support segments is coupled to a plunger such that when each said plunger is urged upwardly, said opening is widened to release the bottommost lid of said magazine of lids before said opening contracts to support the remaining lids of said magazine of lids;
- (b) a press assembly comprising:
- (i) a lid grasping ring disposed in a first plane, said lid grasping ring comprising a ring member configured for receiving the bottommost lid, said ring member having an opening of a first diameter; and
- (ii) a handle attached to a support ring within which said lid grasping ring is disposed;
- (c) a transport assembly comprising:
- (i) a guide slideably attached to said support ring, said guide configured for guiding said lid grasping ring to the container at a first position in a first direction;
- (ii) a return spring attached to said support ring, wherein said return spring is configured to return said lid grasping ring to a second position in a second direction opposite to said first direction; and
- (d) a rotator assembly configured for rotating said lid grasping ring to a second orientation that is disposed at about 180 degrees with respect to said first orientation while said press assembly is moved between said first position and said second position,
- wherein, when said handle is pulled away from said second position towards said first position with a force, said plunger drops downwardly, the released bottommost lid is received in said opening of said ring member, the released bottommost lid is rotated by said rotator assembly while being transported by said transport assembly before arriving at said first position such that the released bottommost lid is securable to the container by said press assembly.
2. The container lid application device of claim 1, further comprising a force limiter configured for bridging said handle and said lid grasping ring, said force limiter comprises a resilient member having two ends, a first end of said resilient member is attached to said handle and a second end of said resilient member is attached to said support ring, wherein if said force exceeds a pre-determined threshold, said handle is rotated about said resilient member in said first direction to prevent continued application of the force and wherein if said handle is released, said press assembly is returned to said second position by said return spring, urging said plunger upwardly to release a next bottommost lid into said opening of said ring member.
3. The container lid application device of claim 1, wherein said lid grasping ring further comprises a support ring interposed between said lid grasping ring and said guide, a first magnet disposed in said first plane and a second magnet disposed in said support ring, wherein said first magnet is configured to be attracted to said second magnet, thereby aligning said first plane with the container.
4. The container lid application device of claim 1, wherein said press assembly further comprises a protruding ring disposed in a second plane, said protruding ring having an opening of a second diameter that is smaller than said first diameter, said second plane is disposed parallel to and at an offset to said first plane, wherein said protruding ring is configured to come in contact with a portion of the released bottommost lid such that the force can be uniformly applied on the released bottommost lid to secure the released bottommost lid to the container.
5. The container lid application device of claim 1, wherein said resilient member is a component selected from the group consisting a torsion spring, a flexible rod, a coil spring and any combinations thereof.
6. The container lid application device of claim 1, wherein the force is exerted manually.
7. The container lid application device of claim 1, wherein said transport assembly further comprises a pulley system adapted to cycle said transport assembly between said first position and said second position without a manual effort.
8. The container lid application device of claim 1, further comprising a shield disposed around the magazine of lids, preventing human interactions with the lids.
9. A container lid application device for applying a lid onto a container, said lid application device comprising:
- (a) a dispense assembly configured for indexing the lid from a magazine of lids in a first orientation, said magazine of lids terminated at a bottom end of said magazine of lids with a bottommost lid, said dispense assembly comprising at least two magazine support segments biased toward one another forming an opening, each of said at least two magazine support segments is coupled to a plunger such that when each said plunger is urged upwardly, said opening is widened to release the bottommost lid of said magazine of lids before said opening contracts to support the remaining lids of said magazine of lids;
- (b) a press assembly comprising:
- (i) a lid grasping ring disposed in a first plane, said lid grasping ring comprising a ring member configured for receiving the bottommost lid, said ring member having an opening of a first diameter; and
- (ii) a handle attached to a support ring within which said lid grasping ring is disposed;
- (c) a transport assembly comprising:
- (i) a guide slideably attached to said support ring, said guide configured for guiding said lid grasping ring to the container at a first position in a first direction;
- (ii) a return spring attached to said support ring, wherein said return spring is configured to return said lid grasping ring to a second position in a second direction opposite to said first direction;
- (d) a rotator assembly configured for rotating said lid grasping ring to a second orientation that is disposed at about 180 degrees with respect to said first orientation while said press assembly is moved between said first position and said second position; and
- (e) a force limiter configured for bridging said handle and said lid grasping ring, said force limiter comprises a resilient member having two ends, a first end of said resilient member is attached to said handle and a second end of said resilient member is attached to said support ring,
- wherein, when said handle is pulled away from said second position towards said first position with a force, said plunger drops downwardly, the released bottommost lid is received in said opening of said ring member, the released bottommost lid is rotated by said rotator assembly while being transported by said transport assembly before arriving at said first position such that the released bottommost lid is securable to the container by said press assembly,
- wherein if said force exceeds a pre-determined threshold, said handle is rotated about said resilient member in said first direction to prevent continued application of the force and wherein if said handle is released, said press assembly is returned to said second position by said return spring, urging said plunger upwardly to release a next bottommost lid into said opening of said ring member.
10. The container lid application device of claim 9, wherein said lid grasping ring further comprises a support ring interposed between said lid grasping ring and said guide, a first magnet disposed in said first plane and a second magnet disposed in said support ring, wherein said first magnet is configured to be attracted to said second magnet, thereby aligning said first plane with the container.
11. The container lid application device of claim 9, wherein said press assembly further comprises a protruding ring disposed in a second plane, said protruding ring having an opening of a second diameter that is smaller than said first diameter, said second plane is disposed parallel to and at an offset to said first plane, wherein said protruding ring is configured to come in contact with a portion of the released bottommost lid such that the force can be uniformly applied on the released bottommost lid to secure the released bottommost lid to the container.
12. The container lid application device of claim 9, wherein said resilient member is a component selected from the group consisting a torsion spring, a flexible rod, a coil spring and any combinations thereof.
13. The container lid application device of claim 9, wherein the force is exerted manually.
14. The container lid application device of claim 9, wherein said transport assembly further comprises a pulley system adapted to cycle said transport assembly between said first position and said second position without a manual effort.
15. The container lid application device of claim 9, further comprising a shield disposed around the magazine of lids, preventing human interactions with the lids.
16. A container lid application device for applying a lid onto a container, said lid application device comprising:
- (a) a dispense assembly configured for indexing the lid from a magazine of lids in a first orientation, said magazine of lids terminated at a bottom end of said magazine of lids with a bottommost lid, said dispense assembly comprising at least two magazine support segments biased toward one another forming an opening, each of said at least two magazine support segments is coupled to a plunger such that when each said plunger is urged upwardly, said opening is widened to release the bottommost lid of said magazine of lids before said opening contracts to support the remaining lids of said magazine of lids;
- (b) a press assembly comprising:
- (i) a lid grasping ring disposed in a first plane, said lid grasping ring comprising a ring member configured for receiving the bottommost lid, said ring member having an opening of a first diameter; and
- (ii) a handle attached to a support ring within which said lid grasping ring is disposed;
- (c) a transport assembly comprising:
- (i) a guide slideably attached to said support ring, said guide configured for guiding said lid grasping ring to the container at a first position in a first direction;
- (ii) a return spring attached to said support ring, wherein said return spring is configured to return said lid grasping ring to a second position in a second direction opposite to said first direction; and
- (d) a rotator assembly comprising at least one pin connected to said lid grasping ring at a first end and a pinion at a second end and a rack, the pinion configured to be rotatable about a central axis of said pin and rotatably coupled with said rack, wherein said rotator assembly is configured for rotating said lid grasping ring to a second orientation that is disposed at about 180 degrees with respect to said first orientation while said press assembly is moved between said first position and said second position,
- wherein, when said handle is pulled away from said second position towards said first position with a force, said plunger drops downwardly, the released bottommost lid is received in said opening of said ring member, the released bottommost lid is rotated by said rotator assembly while being transported by said transport assembly before arriving at said first position such that the released bottommost lid is securable to the container by said press assembly.
17. The container lid application device of claim 16, further comprising a force limiter configured for bridging said handle and said lid grasping ring, said force limiter comprises a resilient member having two ends, a first end of said resilient member is attached to said handle and a second end of said resilient member is attached to said support ring, wherein if said force exceeds a pre-determined threshold, said handle is rotated about said resilient member in said first direction to prevent continued application of the force and wherein if said handle is released, said press assembly is returned to said second position by said return spring, urging said plunger upwardly to release a next bottommost lid into said opening of said ring member.
18. The container lid application device of claim 16, wherein said lid grasping ring further comprises a support ring interposed between said lid grasping ring and said guide, a first magnet disposed in said first plane and a second magnet disposed in said support ring, wherein said first magnet is configured to be attracted to said second magnet, thereby aligning said first plane with the container.
19. The container lid application device of claim 16, wherein said press assembly further comprises a protruding ring disposed in a second plane, said protruding ring having an opening of a second diameter that is smaller than said first diameter, said second plane is disposed parallel to and at an offset to said first plane, wherein said protruding ring is configured to come in contact with a portion of the released bottommost lid such that the force can be uniformly applied on the released bottommost lid to secure the released bottommost lid to the container.
20. The container lid application device of claim 16, wherein the force is exerted manually.
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Type: Grant
Filed: Nov 10, 2017
Date of Patent: Dec 17, 2019
Patent Publication Number: 20180134424
Inventors: Michael Seversky (Webster, NY), Michael DiCocco (Wayne, NJ), Kristofer Stichter (Lebanon, PA)
Primary Examiner: Michelle Lopez
Assistant Examiner: Chinyere J Rushing-Tucker
Application Number: 15/809,149
International Classification: B65B 7/28 (20060101); B65B 67/02 (20060101);